The University of Austin Courted UNC-Chapel Hill’s Jed Atkins

Jed Atkins’ tenure as dean and director of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Civic Life and Leadership began a little over a year ago, and another school is already trying to lure him away.

The Assembly obtained an email that the University of Austin, the “anti-woke” private school that welcomed its first class of students last year, sent earlier this spring to faculty, staff, and students listing Atkins as one of two finalists to become the school’s second president.

“The trustees considered dozens of possible candidates and interviewed a shortlist of seven,” the email says, noting that Atkins and the school’s eventual choice, Carlos Carvalho, “emerged as the clear front-runners.”

The email said Atkins and Carvalho were scheduled to meet with the trustees and senior leadership for final interviews on May 1, followed by “a special panel discussion, moderated by Bari Weiss, to which all members of the UATX community are invited, and after which there will be an opportunity to give feedback.”

But apparently, that was all a mix-up. Hillel Ofek, UATX vice president of communications, said Atkins wasn’t a finalist, the email was sent in error, and the campus visit never occurred.

“UATX sought to recruit Dean Atkins for a senior leadership position, but in the end, we could not persuade him to become a finalist for any position given his existing commitments,” he wrote in an email to The Assembly. “We regard him as one of the nation’s wisest voices in civic education and are eager to draw on his insight as an advisor as we build UATX.”

Carvalho was appointed May 2.

This all happened shortly after Atkins apparently won an internal fight at UNC-CH. In January, then-Provost Chris Clemens reportedly attempted to cancel an ongoing School of Civic Life and Leadership hiring search due to faculty criticism. The criticism became public in March when The Daily Tar Heel broke the story.

But the search was quickly un-canceled by Chancellor Lee Roberts, according to Inside Higher Ed, and Clemens resigned in early April.

“It is not uncommon for university leaders to be pursued by other institutions,” UNC Media Relations said in a statement, adding that they don’t comment on personnel matters or employment considerations. “We are happy to have Jed as dean and proud of the work he’s doing at UNC.”

Atkins did not respond to a request for comment, but the school announced seven new faculty members this week, as well as two visiting faculty.